Legal assistance with buying a property

The title deed shows the registered owner, how the property is identified and whether there are security interests, easements, pending-entry markers or notes. It does not show everything: it cannot tell you whether a previous transfer is valid, whether someone is asserting a claim outside the Land Register or whether somebody uses the property without a registered right. We therefore never rely only on the current extract; we also check the acquisition document and contractual history.

The agency wants the transaction to complete — not necessarily to be structured in your favour. Its standard agreement may favour the seller or be generic, without addressing the real risks of your property: encumbrances, handover date and conditions, liability for defects or the order of payment and transfer. We review the agreement for you and negotiate the comments with the other party.

Signing the agreement does not yet make you the owner. Under the Civil Code (No. 40/1964 Zb., § 133), ownership of property transferred by agreement is acquired only through Land Register registration. In decision 5Obdo/35/2023, the Supreme Court of the Slovak Republic distinguished the agreement's contractual effects between the parties from its effects on property rights, which arise only on registration. In practice, there is a period between signing and registration during which the agreement must protect your funds and legal position.

You pay the purchase price into a separate escrow account rather than directly to the seller. The lawyer releases it only when the conditions agreed in the contract are met — typically after your ownership is registered and the old security interest removed. The buyer therefore does not pay into uncertainty, while the seller knows the funds are ready. We provide escrow as a separate follow-on service.

That does not automatically prevent a purchase, but the agreement must address it. Where the seller has a mortgage, part of the price is usually used to repay it, with arrangements for removing the security interest so that you do not acquire someone else's debt with the property. For an easement, the key is exactly what it permits and for whom — some substantially affect value, others barely at all. We always explain this before signing.

The seller should warn you about defects, and known defects belong in the agreement. If the seller fails to disclose them, the Civil Code (§ 597) gives the buyer remedies. Hidden defects must be notified without undue delay and no later than the statutory deadline (§ 599) — after several years, claims generally cannot be pursued. We therefore recommend a thorough handover record and contacting us sooner rather than later if you suspect a defect.